Islamic Council Norway hires woman in niqab as communications officer

Norwegian Muslim umbrella organisation Islamic Council Norway has been criticised for hiring a woman who wears the full face-covering niqab as a communications officer.

Minister for Culture Linda Hofsted Helleland called the move "extremely ill-advised" and members of other parties have also voiced their concern about the appointment.

The appointment of 32-year-old Leyla Hasic as an administrative consultant by Islamic Council Norway (Islamsk Råd Norge, IRN) comes soon after the Ministry of Culture (Kulturdepartementet) granted almost half a million kroner ($58 million) to help the organisation with initiatives aimed at improving dialogue between Muslim communities and the rest of society, reports news media Klassekampen.